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Event Program
THUR, APR 23
FEATURING
Tim Barnes, Ariel Elias, Jon Fisch,
Michael Hartney, Carley Moseley, and Jenny Zigrino
Hosted by Ophira Eisenberg
Due to a scheduling conflict, Sasha Merci will no longer be appearing at this event.
Tag us on Instagram @symphonyspace to be featured in our Instagram stories!

Tim Barnes is a comedian, television writer, and producer. He is the creator of the animated series Maurice on Mars and has contributed to Comedy Central, NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, as well as Warped! and the All That revival for Nickelodeon. He currently writes the Letters from African America newsletter on Substack and hosts the podcast You Are The Genre. Most recently, Barnes created the scripted audio series JUDGE TRAVIS.
Tim Barnes is a comedian, television writer, and producer. He is the creator of the animated series Maurice on Mars and has contributed to Comedy Central, NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, as well as Warped! and the All That revival for Nickelodeon. He currently writes the Letters from African America newsletter on Substack and hosts the podcast You Are The Genre. Most recently, Barnes created the scripted audio series JUDGE TRAVIS.

Ariel Elias was named a New Face in Comedy at the 2021 Just for Laughs Comedy Festival. She made her late-night debut in 2022 on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and has also appeared on Good Morning America, Sherri, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and The Washington Post, and performs live from coast to coast in the United States and Canada. Her hour-long special A Jewish Star debuted on YouTube in 2025.
Ariel Elias was named a New Face in Comedy at the 2021 Just for Laughs Comedy Festival. She made her late-night debut in 2022 on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and has also appeared on Good Morning America, Sherri, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and The Washington Post, and performs live from coast to coast in the United States and Canada. Her hour-long special A Jewish Star debuted on YouTube in 2025.

Jon Fisch is one of only a handful of comedians who has appeared on both The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He appeared on NBC's Last Comic Standing and was named the New York City Capital One Audience Favorite. Fisch has performed at numerous festivals, including the HBO Comedy Arts Festival, the Great American Comedy Festival, and the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, and he regularly appears at the Comedy Cellar and Gotham Comedy Club in New York. Fisch previously hosted the podcast In the Tank and currently hosts the podcast Spiraling Up.
Jon Fisch is one of only a handful of comedians who has appeared on both The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He appeared on NBC's Last Comic Standing and was named the New York City Capital One Audience Favorite. Fisch has performed at numerous festivals, including the HBO Comedy Arts Festival, the Great American Comedy Festival, and the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, and he regularly appears at the Comedy Cellar and Gotham Comedy Club in New York. Fisch previously hosted the podcast In the Tank and currently hosts the podcast Spiraling Up.

Michael Hartney has been a Comedy Central Comic to Watch and a New Face at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. At New York’s Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, he spent over ten years as a writer, performer, and director, co-creating the hugely popular Characters Welcome show. His television credits include 30 Rock, The Politician, The Break with Michelle Wolf, The Who Was? Show, How to Die Alone, and Throwing Shade, where he also served as a staff writer. Hartney created the roles of Stanley and Mr. Williams in the original Broadway cast of School of Rock the Musical. In late 2020, he co-founded Squirrel Comedy Theatre, a nonprofit offering shows and classes.
Michael Hartney has been a Comedy Central Comic to Watch and a New Face at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. At New York’s Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, he spent over ten years as a writer, performer, and director, co-creating the hugely popular Characters Welcome show. His television credits include 30 Rock, The Politician, The Break with Michelle Wolf, The Who Was? Show, How to Die Alone, and Throwing Shade, where he also served as a staff writer. Hartney created the roles of Stanley and Mr. Williams in the original Broadway cast of School of Rock the Musical. In late 2020, he co-founded Squirrel Comedy Theatre, a nonprofit offering shows and classes.

Carley Moseley is a writer and stand-up comedian. She’s performed with The Second City and Annoyance Theater, contributed to Reductress, and previously served as a staff writer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, for which she earned two Emmy nominations.
Carley Moseley is a writer and stand-up comedian. She’s performed with The Second City and Annoyance Theater, contributed to Reductress, and previously served as a staff writer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, for which she earned two Emmy nominations.

Jenny Zigrino's newest comedy special, Jen-Z, premiered on Comedy Central Digital in 2023. Her screen credits include Bad Santa 2, Too Late, After Midnight, and Don't Tell Comedy, and she has performed stand-up on Conan and The Late Late Show with James Corden. In 2016, she was named a New Face in Comedy at the Just for Laughs Festival. Zigrino performs live from coast to coast, and has headlined festivals including the Moontower Comedy Festival, New York Comedy Festival, and High Plains Comedy Festival.
Jenny Zigrino's newest comedy special, Jen-Z, premiered on Comedy Central Digital in 2023. Her screen credits include Bad Santa 2, Too Late, After Midnight, and Don't Tell Comedy, and she has performed stand-up on Conan and The Late Late Show with James Corden. In 2016, she was named a New Face in Comedy at the Just for Laughs Festival. Zigrino performs live from coast to coast, and has headlined festivals including the Moontower Comedy Festival, New York Comedy Festival, and High Plains Comedy Festival.

Ophira Eisenberg is a stand-up comedian, writer, and host of the award-winning comedy podcast Parenting Is a Joke. She also hosted NPR’s Ask Me Another, where she interviewed and played silly games with hundreds of celebrities including Sir Patrick Stewart, Rosie Perez, Yo-Yo Ma, Awkwafina, Roxane Gay, Nick Kroll, Chelsea Handler, and more. She’s appeared multiple times on CBS’s The Late Late Show, Sherri! with Sherri Sheppard, Comedy Central, HBO, The New Yorker Festival, and is regular on The Moth Radio Hour. Her stories are included in three of The Moth’s best-selling collections. Her memoir, Screw Everyone: Sleeping My Way to Monogamy, was optioned for a TV series, and her comedy special Plant-Based Jokes is streaming on YouTube. Eisenberg is a regular at The Comedy Cellar and other New York clubs, and her solo show, Leaving a Mark: A Comedy About Scars, made its Off-Broadway debut to rave reviews and won the Women in the Arts & Media Award for Solo Show Scripts. Her new comedy special is forthcoming later this spring.
Ophira Eisenberg is a stand-up comedian, writer, and host of the award-winning comedy podcast Parenting Is a Joke. She also hosted NPR’s Ask Me Another, where she interviewed and played silly games with hundreds of celebrities including Sir Patrick Stewart, Rosie Perez, Yo-Yo Ma, Awkwafina, Roxane Gay, Nick Kroll, Chelsea Handler, and more. She’s appeared multiple times on CBS’s The Late Late Show, Sherri! with Sherri Sheppard, Comedy Central, HBO, The New Yorker Festival, and is regular on The Moth Radio Hour. Her stories are included in three of The Moth’s best-selling collections. Her memoir, Screw Everyone: Sleeping My Way to Monogamy, was optioned for a TV series, and her comedy special Plant-Based Jokes is streaming on YouTube. Eisenberg is a regular at The Comedy Cellar and other New York clubs, and her solo show, Leaving a Mark: A Comedy About Scars, made its Off-Broadway debut to rave reviews and won the Women in the Arts & Media Award for Solo Show Scripts. Her new comedy special is forthcoming later this spring.
Uptown Showdown is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Seedlings Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, Charina Endowment Fund, Charles D. Fleischman Charitable Trust, Susan Bay Nimoy, The Isambard Kingdom Brunel Society of North America, Michael Tuch Foundation, PECO Foundation, Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina, Google.org, Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation, Jody and John Arnhold and the Arnhold Foundation, The Grodzins Fund, and the Seedtime Foundation.
Programming is also made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
Symphony Space thanks our generous supporters, including our Board of Directors, Producers Circle, and members, who make our programs possible with their annual support.
Kathy Landau Executive Director
Peg Wreen Managing Director
Isaiah Sheffer*
Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director (1978-1990)
Artistic Director (1990-2010)
Founding Artistic Director (2010-2012)
Allan Miller
Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director (1978-1990)
Jennifer Brennan Director of Literary Programs
Drew Richardson Lead Producer of Literary Programs
Vivienne Woodward Senior Producer of Literary Programs
Mary Shimkin Director of Broadcast & Literary Initiatives
Matthew Love Consultant for Literary Programs
Magdalene Wrobleski Program Associate
Lili Raynaud Literary Intern
Gabriela Weaver Literary Intern
*in memoriam